OpusFSX Flight Simulator Interface for and

Helping to take reality to the next level ...

Live Detailed Weather - Horizon to Horizon 

We are the Innovators don't settle for 2nd best 
There are those who innovate and those who merely follow.

The perfect addon for Standalone and Networked systems!

* Combines three or more programs into one user friendly interface.
* Sets new standards of performance and realism.
* Ideal addon for cockpit builders and general users alike.
* Ideal addon for both standalone and networked simulator systems.
* Live weather engine for live detailed weather as far as the eye can see, instant
  weather updates and perfect weather and cloud synchronization across all
  systems.
* Opus pioneered the use of Dynamic Weather Themes making it possible to
  give you detailed real world weather horizon to horizon for the very first time.
* User friendly camera control, configuration and docking interface for virtual
  cockpit, 2D cockpit, and external aircraft views.
* Additional support for windowed views for systems equipped with multi-
  screened computer systems.
* Dynamic head movements or virtual cockpit camera shake based on actual
  real-life captured 3D accelerometer data.
* Dynamic aircraft movements or 2D cockpit camera shake based on actual
  real-life captured 3D accelerometer data.
* Automated head movement to assist taxiing and banking in a turn.
* Synchronized views, aircraft status, weather and clouds formations.
* Ultra high performance IPC communications between networked systems.

* TrackIR^® real-time 3D view control full compatibility

News

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Beta Version 3.11 Available Now

The leatest beta includes the following enhancements,

Flight planning assistance includes Add-on Menu Report options to show the OpusWeather (METARs), OpusWeatherReport (GRIB Data), OpusFlightReport (Flight Plan), and OpusSidStarReport (SIDs and STARs) text file reports within Notepad.

GRIB data handling and upper wind and temp target injection changed to improve the resolution of all upper wind and temperature targets throughout the weather map and hence throughout the injected weather region.

Release Version 3.1 Available Now

We are very pleased to announce that Release Version 3.1 is available now, with of course free upgrades to all licensed users. 

The latest release includes many enhancements listed below.

We have combined our heuristic weather interpolation with perfect geodesic mapping within the simulator that results in accurate destination weather from over 240km away.

The second phase of flight planning assistance has been included which extracts your navigation points, providing detailed Flight Plan En Route Weather Reports. 

Camera Import and Export options are included. User Camera Definition Files (CDFs) are available on our Downloads page for import.

 

The Low Overcast Effect has been improved and extended to cover the first reported overcast cloud layer with a cloud base of up to 6000 feet AGL.

 

Improved and refined all the visibility height gradients, including for fog layers underneath overcasts.

 

A Disable View option has been added to the Camera dialog.

 

The shortcut button and key assignments used to cycle the views forward and backward will now only cycle between identical view modes.

The number of supported joysticks has been extended to 8.

 

The Weather dialog now includes a 'Disable Weather Update on Startup' option.

 

The specified Destination and Alternates are no longer cleared automatically when the wheels touch down to prevent loosing the specified ICAO codes on bouncy takeoffs.

 

For further details and to subscribe to SimForum email updates 'watch' our topic here,
Beta and Release Announcements

Live Weather Reports ... Now provide a perfect long range (400 mile) ATIS for your Local, Destination and up to 4 Alternate airfields or sites. The OpusFSX Lower and Upper Atmosphere reports will also provide detailed winds and temperatures aloft targets derived from the GRIB forecast data.

OpusFSX has won the Reader's Choice award from AVSIM!

We are proud to announce we have won the 2013 prestigious AVSIM Reader's Choice award. The development will proceed and continue in the same fashion, with plenty of feedback, ideas and assistance from all our users, thank you for your continued support.

Mutley's Hangar Review - Award for Excellence

We are pround to announce that we have received an Award for Excellence from Mutley's Hanger with a perfect 10 across the board giving OpusFSX an overall Mutley's Hangar score of 10/10! When a product impresses one of the Mutley's Hanger reviewers for innovation, quality, range of features, value for money or accuracy etc., they like to raise its awareness by awarding it the Mutley's Hangar Award for Excellence. This is still an exclusive club even though the award has been active for nearly 3 years! Read the OpusFSX review here.

 

 

Brief Description

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OpusFSX The ultimate Flight Simulator Interface for FSX and Prepar3D with,

Live Weather Engine for real world live weather updates,
Live Camera for view control and dynamic head movements, and
Live View for synchronized multi-screen networked displays.

OpusFSX helps take reality to the next level by combining three excellent programs into one user friendly interface, setting new standards of performance and realism throughout its novel design. The OpusFSX interface is ideally suited to both standalone and networked FSX systems making it the ideal addon for cockpit builders and general users alike.

On standalone systems, OpusFSX incorporates two superb functions through its Live Weather Engine and Live Camera options.

The Live Weather Engine uses our unique methods of weather update to provide the most advanced software in the marketplace and set new standards for weather updating for the FSX and Prepar3D flight simulators. These methods provide the most detailed, realistic and efficient weather updating service and offer huge benefits over the sluggish, inaccurate and totally unrealistic update methods employed by others. You can also load historic weather from within the last 24 hours. OpusFSX allows you to create and name your own themes based on the current live METAR reports or import your own custom METARs.

Live Camera provides excellent camera creation, control and docking facilities through its user friendly interface, totally eliminating the need to alter any of the simulator's controls. The Live Camera interface also includes support for Windowed Views and provides an ultra-realistic Dynamic Head Movement option (virtual cockpit camera shake) utilising actual 'real-life' capture 3D accelerometer data and Automatic Head Movements to assist the pilot whilst taxiing and banking in a turn.

On networked systems, irrespective of the size and complexity of your system, whether your system consists of a main 'flying' PC with a single networked laptop client, or a more elaborate multi-computer networked system; the Live View interface, with its ultra high-performance IPC communications, unique Client Side Smoothing software, and perfect synchronization of aircraft status, weather and cloud formations, will provide you with the highest possible networking performance. Whether you simply want an additional controllable display to provide further scenic or external view options, or wish to create a multi-screened panorama for your FSX or Prepar3D experience, Live View offers you the ideal hassle free user-friendly solution.

Your main 'flying' OpusFSX server is the machine through which you control the aircraft. The networked client OpusFSX systems are synchronised to the server through multiple ultra high-performance IPC links, the client systems are used primarily as view controllers. The networked systems allow you to create a multi-screened simulator system without placing the full workload and burden on your main system.

From this set up it therefore follows that all in-cockpit or instrument panel views used to control the aircraft must be displayed on the main server. All other views (scenic or external) can be offloaded onto the client systems. You can create wide panoramic vistas this way, or additional external aircraft views, without draining the resources on your main system or degrading its performance.

Live Weather Features 

• Live Weather provides instant weather updates.

• No more unrealistic clearing of the weather prior to updating.

• No more annoying screen flicker as METARs are 'slowly' loaded into the sim.

• No more unrealistic globalized weather from horizon to horizon.

• No more inconsistencies with distant ATC and ATIS reports.

• No more METAR voids or unrealistic METAR data morphing.

• Live Weather allows you to see the changing weather patterns en route as you fly.

• Live Weather allows you to see low lying mist and fog patches.

• Live Weather creates very realistic cloud and visibility layering.

• Live Weather allows you to turn on, off, or automatically generate the cirrus cloud effect.

• Live Weather allows you to load historic weather from within the last 24 hours. 

• Live Weather allows you to load your own weather using a simple METAR import file.

• Live Weather allows you to create your own named weather themes or scenarios.

• Flight plan assistant provides dynamic flight plan en route weather reports and detailed Opus Flight Report file.

• Dynamic Weather reports displayed during flight for your local area, destination and alternates. Lower and upper atmosphere weather reports also available.

• Live Weather allows perfect synchronisation of weather and cloud formations on networked systems.

Live Camera Features

• Live Camera provides a user-friendly interface for creating, controlling and managing any number of virtual cockpit, 2D cockpit and external aircraft views. 

• Live Camera creates, controls and manages all views from the 'flying' server system, with live view adjustment for each of your client system cameras. 

• Live Camera allows joystick buttons and keyboard key sequences to be assigned to individual or multiple views. 

• Live Camera does not require you to make any changes to the control assignments.

• Live Camera enables default views to be specified facilitating the use of multiple screens or the creation of panoramic views over networked systems. 

• Live Camera includes support for both standard non-windowed and windowed views. Windowed views are ideally suited for use on multi-screened computer systems.

• Live Camera provides ultra-realistic Dynamic Head Movement, or virtual cockpit camera shake, based on actual real-life captured 3D accelerometer data.

• Live Camera provides ultra-realistic Dynamic Aircraft Movement, or 2D cockpit camera shake, based on actual real-life captured 3D accelerometer data.

• Live Camera supports Automated Head Movement to assist the pilot whilst taxiing and banking in a turn.

• Camera Import and Export options are included. User Camera Definition Files (CDFs) are available on our Downloads page for import.

Live View Features 

• Live View synchronizes the aircraft's current position, attitude, landing gear, wheel movement, lighting, ailerons, elevator, rudder, flaps, spoilers (speed brakes), engine throttles and reversers. 

• Live View synchronizes the simulator's date and time, with either weather themes or full METAR weather updates for the aircraft's surrounding area.

• Live View employs and optimizes multiple dedicated high-performance IPC network links, with Client Side Smoothing software, to provide the highest level of performance and the smoothest possible operation. 

• Live View requires minimal set up and configuration to get up and running. 

• Live View on the demo version of OpusFSX will run for 15 minutes allowing you to evaluate the software and ensure full compatibility with your system. 

Dynamic Live Weather

The Live Weather Engine requires internet access to obtain the latest live weather (met) reports for the area you are flying in. These live reports are used to synchronize the weather on all networked OpusFSX systems. Configuration options allow the user to specify the frequency of weather updates based on both time and distance travelled.

The Live Weather Engine does not include any sky and cloud textures. For optimum effect we strongly recommend you install the sky and cloud textures from packages such as Flight Environment X or HDEv2 (freeware) for clouds with the sky upgraded by Danny Glover, and use the OpusFSX Live Weather Engine for the actual weather updates.

As you are probably aware the use of METAR data to update the weather in the simulator leaves a lot to be desired. To adjust the weather correctly using METAR updates you are forced to either use unrealistic globalised weather, resulting in inconsistencies with ATC, or clear the weather and reload the new METAR data one station at a time. This update process is not only unrealistic, but can result in a great deal of screen flicker while the simulator slowly loads the new METAR data. There are also problems with METAR voids, METAR morphing, and weather synchronisation across networked systems using METAR updates. These problems are inherent within the simulator. On the other hand, our weather updates are able to load instantly into the simulator with no screen flicker or disturbance to the flight, no weather morphing, and no inconsistencies with ATC.

The screenshot below illustrates the detailed weather generated by our Live Weather Engine,  clouds rolling over the foothills of the Rockies with distant overcast skies.

Historic Weather : Should you wish to use historic weather from within the last 24 hour period then we provide configuration options to do so. Just set your simulator time as required and the historic weather will be downloaded automatically and updated at the specified frequency.

Third-Party Weather : Should you wish to use an alternate weather source or specify your own weather, we provide a simple means to allow the user or third-party weather engine to load METAR reports into the simulator via the OpusFSX interface. This interface will allow you to take advantage of our instant updating within OpusFSX. All METAR reports can be specified in either standard or extended FSX/Prepar3D format. In such circumstances, OpusFSX will load all METARs contained within the specified text file. These reports will then be used to perform a weather update of the system. This interface provides you with a simple means to create your own global or localised weather themes by specifying the required METAR string(s) within the import file (the global ICAO station code GLOB can be used to specify global weather).

Please refer to our Products page for further details.

Future Development Plans

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World Views and Movie Maker

We are currently investigating upgrading the Live Camera interface to support a World View option and introduce a Movie Maker feature aimed at simplifying the creation of FSX\P3D videos. The Movie Maker would also provide a simple means to create panning shots. 

Live Weather Assistant

The Live Weather Assistant will be a client side user interface providing useful and requested weather information to the simulator pilot. The Live Weather Assistant will run on a networked client PC or laptop and cooperate with the client side Live Weather Engine. The networked client computer will not need FSX or P3D to be installed, just the Live Weather Engine's LAN link to the OpusFSX server. The Live Weather Assistant will provide a user friendly interface for displaying useful weather information relating to the current flight and any user requested weather related data (e.g. an up to date summary or graphic of the weather ahead or along your intended route to your destination).

Live Traffic Synchronization

Live Traffic will supplement the Live View multi-screen networked displays by synchronizing all AI traffic across the OpusFSX network.

Device Drivers
The device drivers provide an interface to the popular panels and addon hardware for FSX. Each device driver will interface to the relevant aircraft simulation thereby eliminating the need to install separate drivers dedicated to each aircraft.

All device drivers are aware of any new aircraft selections even if the aircraft is changed in mid-flight. The appropriate interface (SimConnect, FSUIPC4 or the manufacturer's SDK) will be initialised and employed automatically whenever necessary.

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